Marianne Williamson for Congress

[Barry]

Here's a new video in support or Marianne Williamson for Congress by Alanis Morisette. It's pretty good!

I haven't tuned into this important and prominent race for a while (I haven't tuned into anything in a while!). She was originally challenging Henry Waxman, who is also a strong Democratic representative, but since then Mr Waxman has decided not to run for re-election so it seems there is a good chance that Marianne will be elected and will actually have a shot at "changing the conversation"! It's going to get interesting!

Barry

From Alanis Morissette:

I was attempting to capture the passion, mission, activism, deep humanity and tenderness of Marianne, the new political sensibility she represents and the consciousness that produced it.

Recording at Sunset Sound with my bandmates, Marianne came by and visited. We all huddled together as the song was recorded. I love this song. I love this woman and I love a world that would vote for her.

Lyrics:

I've fallen down, joan of arc ailing, systems are failing the mission
I've been taken down, wind from my sails, by tempers that flared and were vicious

I'm going down down down
I'm going down down down

Unless we start a revolution
Awaken from this frozen
start the mending of our union

Today

'less we revive this constitution
From sure disintegration
live out this revelation

Today

Smile upside down, Rupture is rising,
Families are scrambling for custody
Faithlessly drowned
The chase of this dollar is tilting my altar t'ward apathy

We're going down down down
We're going down lest we move to new ground

Unless we start a revolution
Awaken from this frozen
start the mending of our union

Today

'less we revive this constitution
From sure disintegration
live out this revelation

Today

Warm'd by this fire born from a flicker
My heart moves slower than technology
This dampened desire is rolling its sleeves up
Replaced by a vigor and empathy

I'm reaching higher and higher and higher
I'm moving up and up and up

As we bandy round solution
celebrate our evolution
That antidotes our stations

today

And as we activate our nation
As we're joined by our companions
we ignite our generation

today

[Karen the KAT]

Hmmm, that's a tough one, is she a real Independent who will vote for us or is she just another pre-selected, pre-owned major party member in disguise. The one thing I saw on her site at a quick glance that worries me is: "I'm running as an Independent but I will caucus with the Democrats" which basically says: "I say I'm different but I really the same old problem".

Kuchinich supports her though and that carries a lot of weight with me, and he was officially a Democrat but voted his own mind.

The battle we face is anybody with enough money to campaign successfully is likely already part of the problem. It's just not gotten bad enough yet that a true "Grass-roots" campaign is likely to have enough support to be viable. EVERY person in Congress was worth millions before they ran, and 97% of them were also attorneys. We don't have a single "average, normal" person in office, not a single small business owner. Well unless you consider multi million dollar law office owners "average, normal, small business owners".

Marianne is no longer an average, normal person, she is wealthy and rather famous, and her life is quite different than most people's lives. 99% of what average people have to deal with every day, she does not. All her NEEDS are secure, and so are most of her wants. She can try to remember what it was like to worry about her needs, but it is no longer relevant to her life, it's an abstract seen from afar. She may have good intentions, but when it comes down to "me or them", good intentions are usually a bit more uncomfortable to suffer the aftermath of having stood by than wealthy people are willing submit themselves to. When wealthy people say: "Us", and "We", it is rarely inclusive in the way that most people mean. Very rarely.

I have found VERY few wealthy people who are not preoccupied with gaining yet more wealth. They may tell you they are not like that but they have a very hard time taking their chips, leaving the table, cashing them in and going home as long as they are winning, and the wealthy are on a winning streak like no other time in history. It pretty much takes somebody with nothing to lose to be able to vote against the system because not only are you going to miss out on a LOT of free money and a second term, but it's also become hazardous to do so.

I want to believe, but reality makes me a hard sell...

[Jude Iam]

interesting note - thanks. by our actions are we known.
she's by far the best in the running, and i'd sure give her a shot.

on the larger stage, I AM FANTASIZING: President ELIZABETH WARREN.
you heard it here first (or did you?).
anyway… pass it on!
wouldn't it be SWELL?!?!?
jude

Hmmm, that's a tough one, is she a real Independent ...

[Karen the KAT]

interesting note - thanks. by our actions are we known.
she's by far the best in the running, and i'd sure give her a shot.

on the larger stage, I AM FANTASIZING: President ELIZABETH WARREN.
you heard it here first (or did you?).
anyway… pass it on!
wouldn't it be SWELL?!?!?
jude

I'm fantasizing more about a Congress and Executive office filled with average, normal working people who have no or very little prior political experience. It doesn't take a PhD. to run a country effectively, it takes common sense and MORALS. That worked just fine to establish this country and to govern it until the "professional politicians" started to take over bit by bit. By 1913 the government no longer represented the people, it represented the banks, and it has steadily become more so since then. Now they ALL represent the banks. Consider that among the thousands of lobbyists in DC, every member of Congress has approx 22 lobbyists that are dedicated to them alone, and of these, two are dedicated lobbyists just for Goldman Sachs alone, and the picture becomes more clear.

Add to this the fact that the 2000 biggest media companies are all owned by only 6 people who are cross-invested in each other, and 4 of them sit on the board of the Fed and the picture becomes very clear. Don't trust my opinions or my links, Google them yourself and be convicted of these things by your own heart.

The problem with ALL the 2 party members is they were bought out long before they ever ran for office. In the last two decades I have seen only two who were not Dennis Kuchinich and Ron Paul, and they were both pushed aside by the other 536.

The more you question and research the "official" story, the more this all becomes clear.

Consider the fact that the "official truth" is that which is told by an office and an office is a place where business is conducted...

Our country is divided by two parties and yet very few people actually agree with their selected party so much as they disagree with the other one. "United we stand, divided we fall", it's pretty simple really, and it has worked EVERY time throughout history.

There is not a single incumbent that deserves another term, if you don't think so just compare what they say vs their actual voting record, especially those votes which happen late on the nights before a holiday or during a big news event.

Breaking the system is not going to be quick nor easy, but it can be done if the people hold fast to the truth instead of being happy being told what we want to hear while blinding themselves to what is actually happening. Blaming the other party for all our troubles is nothing but self victimization, our current state of affairs is proof of this.

[podfish]

I'm fantasizing more about a Congress and Executive office filled with average, normal working people who have no or very little prior political experience. It doesn't take a PhD. to run a country effectively, it takes common sense and MORALS. That worked just fine to establish this country .

It didn't, really. The level of education of any politician whose name we still remember was pretty high - especially for the times. I'd hate to work in a hot-dog stand run by someone who knew nothing of the business, much less be subject to an amateur-run organization that has a monopoly on violence, control of large parts of the economy, and ability to impose taxation and laws.

To me the ideal is a government with mandated openness and, more important 'cuz it won't work otherwise, a citizenry that takes seriously the job of monitoring their representatives. Your goal is actually more realistic than what I perceive as most peoples' - that is, they wish they had selfless moral paragons for leaders. That way they can go about their own business and leave the hard work to others. I'm serious about that, too - from the tea party to the progressives, you see a yearning for someone noble to step up and lead, and dismay that people with selfish goals somehow have power. They just have different visions of what their ideal leader's goals might be!

[Karen the KAT]

It didn't, really. The level of education of any politician whose name we still remember was pretty high - especially for the times...

Jefferson, yes, others, not so much so. It just takes common sense, after all, there is no single person that really understands everything, you just need enough sense to know who to listen to. Maybe a better definition is somebody who has the ability to learn the basics of any subject rapidly and then make astute decisions, but this is most intelligent people or so we like to think.

Yes, we all wish for people with morals as leaders, unfortunately this is contrary to human nature in that those who want power enough to rise to it, rarely do so for reasons other than self. The higher the level of power the more competition from the selfish people who don't care how they get there. This is why we so rarely see people with morals in positions of leadership.

Quite the catch-22 huh?

I still say it's possible, but it's going to take putting aside our differences and uniting again as a Nation, and it's not yet bad enough for the majority to do that apparently...